In many industries, diagnostic systems play an increasingly important role in manufacturing processes, as well as in maintenance and repair throughout the lifetime of the equipment or product. Some diagnostic systems are based on personal computer technology and feature user-friendly, menu-driven diagnostic applications. These systems assist technicians and professionals at all levels in performing system diagnostics.
With equipment and products becoming more advanced and more complex with the addition of electronic components, the knowledge base required to properly use, maintain, and fix these items has grown immensely. Moreover, the amount of peripheral information relating to the use, maintenance, and repair of the equipment and products has also increased. Access to all of this information is crucial to proper and efficient use, maintenance, and repair of the equipment and products. But, access alone is insufficient. For the best results for using the available information, it must be accessible in a timely manner, generally the faster the better, it must be accurate, and one must know how to use it. However, all of this may be very daunting for even one piece of equipment or product. The management of all of this information only increases with every piece of equipment or product used, maintained, or fixed. Today, such large amounts of information may be managed from locations remote to a diagnostic tool and delivered to a user electronically.
It is desirable to provide a method and apparatus to mange the flow of information between a diagnostic tool and a remote source of information for delivery and use by a user. Moreover, the method and apparatus may be able to manipulate or analyze data to aid in the use of the information by the user.